tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45501899132262863722017-04-02T03:54:42.075-07:00Adventures with TrianglesOur journey through correcting clubbed feet on two childrenMother Hennoreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-23190301286751125202016-08-04T12:37:00.000-07:002016-08-04T12:37:50.645-07:00Annual Checkups<br />It's been a long time since I've updated - mostly because 2015 was an insanely emotionally busy year - but also because not a whole lot has happened with the kiddos feet.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bUEFpCEuzBs/V6OZJUkUCSI/AAAAAAAAAvo/bYqHVeuCkt4EkjQ_tK02y1NYybMzyrc8QCK4B/s1600/13320992_10208308269876735_3851828140750633204_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bUEFpCEuzBs/V6OZJUkUCSI/AAAAAAAAAvo/bYqHVeuCkt4EkjQ_tK02y1NYybMzyrc8QCK4B/s400/13320992_10208308269876735_3851828140750633204_o.jpg" width="300" /></a>Miss Lena's ATTT surgery is on hold until her tendons are bigger than spaghetti noodles... who knows how long that will be. Middle school?? She did have a growth spurt about 2 months ago which caused us to go into the clinic to have her overnight AFO braces adjusted. I'm almost disappointed that we will need to wait to have her surgery done. I feel like being older will make the whole experience more difficult, and she will actually remember having it done to her. Can't change what you don't have control over - that's for sure. <br /><br />Mister Emerson has been on annual maintenance checks for 6 years now and no sign of relapse. I'm pretty sure we missed bringing him in last year... but too late now! He'll be 8 years old in just a few weeks and we don't anticipate anything changing until he hits some growth spurts in the teenage years.<br /><br />We go in tomorrow for their dual 6 &amp; 8 year old feet check. I'm anticipating no big news! <span id="goog_1854825186"></span><span id="goog_1854825187"></span>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-7464141801027842492014-06-08T08:30:00.001-07:002014-06-08T08:30:12.879-07:0021 minutesThe staff at Gillette Children's Hospital were amazing. We arrived in the late morning and they had all kinds of toys and games for her to play while we waited for surgery. Everyone involved with the surgery checked in with us and made sure we were doing good. They asked her to pick out a color for her cast, to which she responded that she wanted yellow AND red. The nurse said they would do their best to make a swirl for her. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gm4cUqUTank/U5R-wxKOHiI/AAAAAAAAAoU/UvNMOF7hF60/s1600/IMG_4030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Gm4cUqUTank/U5R-wxKOHiI/AAAAAAAAAoU/UvNMOF7hF60/s1600/IMG_4030.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>Only one of us could go back into the surgical suite with her. I was really hoping my husband would volunteer because I was starting to have panic attacks about all of it. But when he didn't... I knew I had to because there was no way I was going to let her go back there alone! I got all dressed up in the space suit and we wheeled her back into the surgery suite. They had me hold her (something I was not expecting to do) while the anesthesiologist worked his magic. They had be bring a chapstick from home that had a familiar scent to it and rub it on the inside of the mask. He sang her ABC song and Itsy Bitsy Spider while the mask was over her mouth and nose. She started to fight it and wiggle a bit in the last few seconds (something they told me would happen).&nbsp; Then she just went limp in my arms and they took her over to the table. <br /><br />Lena's surgery was all done in 21 minutes! We barely had time to eat lunch. Dr. England met us back in the waiting room and explained he was able to do everything all in one incision instead of two. So, that's a bonus! Only one scar! <br /><br />We were told she was ready to meet us in post surgery so we started our way to the back of the hospital. I could hear her screaming. :( I really had wanted to be there when she woke up, and I'm not sure how long she was scared with the staff. But we got there as quickly as I could. Lena was struggling with the nurse wanting to rip her IV out of her wrist. We tried to distract her with with television and snuggles until it was time for the IV to come out. Once it was out she calmed down quite a bit... until she saw the yellow and red swirled cast... then she screamed "NO!!! Only RED!!!!!" To which we had to giggle a little bit at the "difficulty" of being 3 years old and making decisions. <br /><br />She ate a bunch of crackers, juice, applesauce, and popsicles. They let her pick out two stuffed animals and then it was time to go home! I think we were at the hospital about 5 hours. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EXgRCs0KLY4/U5R-3ieAObI/AAAAAAAAAoc/wFGRufxH90g/s1600/IMG_4032.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EXgRCs0KLY4/U5R-3ieAObI/AAAAAAAAAoc/wFGRufxH90g/s1600/IMG_4032.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div><br />Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-40298447592159097952014-04-17T11:23:00.003-07:002014-04-17T11:23:51.153-07:00Eve of First SurgeryNerves are all a flutter as we prepare for our little girl to have her first surgery tomorrow. The doctor will be lengthening her muscle and a tendon on the inside of her right leg to correct how her foot is being pulled out from under her. It's been steadily getting worse for the last few months.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dl2K4YKQWKA/U1AbxA78M3I/AAAAAAAAAnc/yEfTgtL_ilg/s1600/1625702_10202763219893951_2115788266681258612_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Dl2K4YKQWKA/U1AbxA78M3I/AAAAAAAAAnc/yEfTgtL_ilg/s1600/1625702_10202763219893951_2115788266681258612_n.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rhlGonoK3mc/U1AbwxQhcbI/AAAAAAAAAnY/Lpx4zwrpfUA/s1600/10155614_10202763223174033_4672806637743356849_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rhlGonoK3mc/U1AbwxQhcbI/AAAAAAAAAnY/Lpx4zwrpfUA/s1600/10155614_10202763223174033_4672806637743356849_n.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>The surgery will be about 1.5-2 hours long and then we'll plan on being at the hospital another 2 hours or so during recovery and discharge. Then she'll be in a walking cast for 20 days - hopefully cleared for summer fun once all that is over with. Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-5510494353521469422014-01-29T17:39:00.001-08:002014-01-29T17:39:02.590-08:00Going under the knifeWell, we've decided to get surgery done on little Miss Lena. After 9 months of physical therapy it has come to a point where we've done as much good as we can... and it just isn't enough. We'll still have to do lots of physical therapy after surgery, but this will get her ahead of the curve.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1-RefDCa8s/UumsNj5flxI/AAAAAAAAAls/mUqE8WsoRcg/s1600/IMG_3706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l1-RefDCa8s/UumsNj5flxI/AAAAAAAAAls/mUqE8WsoRcg/s1600/IMG_3706.JPG" height="298" width="400" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Oddly enough the surgery will only be on her right leg - which was deemed the "better" of the two last year. If you recall, last year we were told that lefty was "for sure" going to need surgery and that physical therapy would be very difficult even for a professional to get just the right stretches in to correct her tripod, and that righty was just a rubber crowbar that needed some strengthening and corrected posture. We started physical therapy essentially only to fix righty because Dr. England believed that leg could be fixed with physical therapy, but that if it couldn't he wanted to do both legs at the same time. Made sense to us! Well, somehow we magically fixed lefty... but righty is flat and curving in (I guess you could call it a partial relapse??).<br /><br />We're still in shock and of course left the appointment without asking any questions. In fact, we left without realizing he only wanted to do surgery on one leg. We had to call back! The surgery is schedule for April 18th (Good Friday - that's good luck, right??). We have many weeks ahead of us to ask questions and verify our course, and although this is scary it does feel right. Our doctor is not very "knife happy" and wouldn't be recommending this surgery unless it were totally necessary. Odds of having TWO children with clubfeet not need any surgery is probably impossible.<br /><br />Any words of advice from all of you that have had children undergo a surgery??Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-9366354388655579142013-07-12T12:52:00.003-07:002013-07-12T12:56:24.128-07:00And you shake it all about....So yesterday we had a regularly scheduled visit with our home physical therapy teacher. Lena has had regular appointments with speech and physical therapists for a few years through the Early Childhood Intervention program. Big brother Emerson had the same thing. We were tapering off Lena's appointments and getting ready to be done this fall when she turns 3. Now this new surgery lingering in our future is going to increase the amount of time out PT will be available.<br /><br />She came yesterday and gave us a few ideas of how to begin the PT to hopefully avoid surgery on the right foot and maybe improve the left as well. I could tell after just 45 minutes with the PT mixing stretching and playing that Lena was already exhausted. We'll start off with just once a day (and maybe doing one leg in the morning and the other later on in the day). The goal is to keep her happy and avoid her being upset while doing PT... because if she becomes a crabby pants about it the whole thing becomes 10X more difficult.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fu2naqghd_o/UeBdev5Xd3I/AAAAAAAAAi4/EctK17ytzn0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-07-12+at+2.47.34+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fu2naqghd_o/UeBdev5Xd3I/AAAAAAAAAi4/EctK17ytzn0/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-07-12+at+2.47.34+PM.png" width="254" /></a>For the right leg we're supposed to realign her foot to a neutral position, slide her butt forward so the knee is in line with the foot, and then give her toys to stretch and reach for while we hold her leg in place. This will allow HER to be the one stretching and we can avoid injuring her by pushing too hard. Secondary stretch (shown in photo) is to support her foot and just pulling back gently to stretch her Achilles. <br /><br /><br />For the left leg we need to find a little square bone at the top of her foot near where the crease is going up to the leg. Slide it over to the middle to be centered with the leg and then stretch it similar to how we did the right leg. This is a difficult stretch to achieve, but we will do our best! There is also a massage to do all down the outside of the calf to help loosen up that tendon which will eventually be lengthened. <br /><br /><br />&nbsp;Our home PT will be coming back the next two weeks and then we finally have our official appointment with the PT specialists at Gillette at the end of July. This will give us a good start and hopefully their information just builds on what we'll already be doing. <br /><br /><br /><br />Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-46072724424787897742013-07-05T10:33:00.002-07:002013-07-05T10:38:41.242-07:00Once a triangle always a triangle....Our daughter has been brace free since November and we had no scheduled appointments until fall 2013 for just a regular maintenance check-up appointment for both kids legs.<br /><br />Mid-winter we started to have some concerns about the position of her feet. When a child is on recovery from clubbed feet the Ponseti bar OVER corrects their feet and then when the braces are removed there is a period of time when the tendons tighten back up a bit and move the feet into neutral position. Lena's feet were not coming forward at the same pace. We have a physical therapist who comes to the house twice a month who was also a little bit concerned. Long rambling paragraph short... we ended up doing nothing at that period in time because it started to get better on it's own and we were a little bit distracted with additional appointments for our son who was having some reflux issues.<br /><br />About a month ago we became concerned again. Her feet were just not looking right. We brought her into the ortho surgeon and learned we have two different problems going on.&nbsp; <span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}"><span class="userContent">Consider your calves to have tendons on both sides that work like horse reigns. On the left side of both of her feet the reign is too tight and short.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}"><span class="userContent">Her right leg is a "rubber crowbar" where the inner J tendon that runs from mid-calf to the arch of the foot is tightening which means when she goes to take a step it is slow to get to flat position when she goes to put weight on it again. I think this could be considered a mild relapse of the club feet. This <i>could</i> be fixed with physical therapy and stretches.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}"><span class="userContent">Left foot however has a bigger problem. The foot is basically a tripod for where it makes contact to the ground. Two spots on the front and then one on the heel. Hers is leaning because the tendons on the outside of the foot are too tight and pulling her foot out from under herself. That one most likely cannot be correct with PT. He said it is a difficult stretch to gain and even a professional might not hit it just right. Basically you have to move her foot into neutral and THEN stretch it... otherwise if you don't get it exactly in neutral you'll just be stretching the wrong area.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}"><span class="userContent">We asked what would happen if this was all left untreated. The doctor explained that once she hit puberty and started to grow fast and when she was getting more into sports her feet would be come incredibly painful. So, obviously we have to do something about that! We have an appointment with the specialist PT at Gillette at the end of July and we'll also receive help from our home PT. Hopefully through that we can avoid surgery on the right leg. We'll hold off on surgery until the fall to give that a chance to work, and because no one wants to be in a cast during the summer time! She will need to be put under general anesthesia, so IF we are unable to fix the right leg with PT this summer we'd want to take care of both feet at the same time rather than doing the left right now and then ending up needing to do the right leg in a year.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}"><span class="userContent">Both surgeries are fairly simple and quick. Just cutting the tendon to lengthen it slightly through an incision about 1/2 inch long. &nbsp; I believe he said she'd be in a cast for about 3 weeks and that she'd even be able to walk on the cast.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}"><span class="userContent">80% of children with clubbed feet need a surgery or two to correct the birth defect. We have been super fortune to have not needed anything other than the casting and braces up until this point. Surgery can be scary, and I don't consider us unlucky now. Just more like an "Oh darn, so close to avoiding all that stuff!!"&nbsp;</span></span><br /><br /><br /><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{&quot;type&quot;:3}"><span class="userContent"><br /></span></span><br /><br />Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-17235903517731064742012-11-04T06:44:00.001-08:002012-11-04T06:44:26.676-08:00Freedom Eve?Remember Remember the 5th of November.....<br /><br />Tomorrow we have our 6-month follow up appointment at Gillette. Our daughter is just over two years old. I know the average correction time of clubbed feet is 2-4 years. Our son was the same age and we were surprised to go to the appointment to learn we were all done! No more braces! Just follow up appointments for a few years and then maybe some checks when he gets to adolescents with some growth spurts.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfz1wx0FcK4/UJZ4h92pE0I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/cJ0nJGqoWQ4/s1600/100_9412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jfz1wx0FcK4/UJZ4h92pE0I/AAAAAAAAAgQ/cJ0nJGqoWQ4/s400/100_9412.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />Now I have an expectation that tomorrow's appointment will go the same way... and I don't think I'm mentally prepared to hear "6 more months". Mostly because of he says that... what's to say it won't be 2 more years and I'm only halfway? I can't think of any reason why she wouldn't be done... her feet look super over corrected (which is how they are supposed to look). She's been walking for about three months now and has really started to meet more of her peer groups milestones. It was like a dam broke and now she's catching up!<br /><br />The only real difference between my two kids is size, my daughter is considerably smaller than my son was at the same age. Two years old - Size 2-3 shoes, barely 20 pounds, and 30 inches tall. My son was all that at 12-15 months old! And we thought HE was small! Ha!<br /><br />I am very grateful that of all the complications that can happen that clubbed feet is what we ended up with. I know there are much more difficult diagnosis and life-long challenges that can come from a birth defect. Clubbed feet are very correctable and not too invasive if you end up with mild forms like we have. No surgeries between the two kids and so far (knock on wood) no relapse with my son. He is now 4 years old and has been brace free for over 2 years. If he tells us 6-more months tomorrow I will of course comply and continue the treatment. Being consistent and constant with the braces is what finishes the job.<br /><br />So for now I am resisting the purchase of nice warm fleece footed pj's and just keeping my fingers crossed that tomorrow starts a new brace-free chapter in our lives. <br /><br /><br />Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-12454486492512670742012-05-09T08:52:00.000-07:002012-05-09T08:52:31.659-07:0019 Months & Counting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wzYTusAzn8Y/T6qQfROWNuI/AAAAAAAAAec/xxs_welehXc/s1600/100_8293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wzYTusAzn8Y/T6qQfROWNuI/AAAAAAAAAec/xxs_welehXc/s320/100_8293.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>It's been six months since our last appointment with Gillette. Lena got a big thumbs up from her doctor and we were told to keep everything the same. We have another appointment in 6 months for her. So, we're still at wearing braces for nap and night time (approximately 15 hours a day). She did move up two sizes - from a Double Zero to a One. In November we will also have Emerson's yearly follow up appointment. He's been brace free since September 2010.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3iRYIkPdf6g/T6qQykmnxLI/AAAAAAAAAek/VjJZRv4fYH4/s1600/100_8353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3iRYIkPdf6g/T6qQykmnxLI/AAAAAAAAAek/VjJZRv4fYH4/s320/100_8353.JPG" width="240" /></a>She will be 19 months old this weekend and is meeting most milestones with her peers. Walking is still a few months off, but we're not worried. Her doctor said he'd put money down on her figuring it out in the next 60-90 days. She does cruise along furniture, but has yet to make that next move of letting go. She did stand up once in the middle of the floor without assistance, but since I didn't see it happen (my husband did) -- I'm going to say that doesn't count. Mama's gotta see it!<br /><br />She began the evaluation process for Early Childhood Special Education. So far we qualify for physical therapist to come to the house and help with her walking. They'll be back again on Friday to do additional testing to see if she qualifies for anything else. Big brother Emerson went through the same program and qualified for all kinds of great help. He is still in the program in a pre-school setting twice a week, and next year it will go up to three times a week.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ah8e9XZy39A/T6qQMmAcbSI/AAAAAAAAAeM/8XhHpkguSQc/s1600/100_8365.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ah8e9XZy39A/T6qQMmAcbSI/AAAAAAAAAeM/8XhHpkguSQc/s320/100_8365.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>She is really good at climbing things now. She can make her way up onto kitchen chairs, but she hasn't quite figured out the couches yet. We recently purchased a slide and swingset for the kids, and she is very happy climbing up onto the platform for the slide.<br /><br />Lately she has been very resistant to nail trimming. I don't know if this is something all clubbed foot kids have or just something for my children... but they both have some pretty funky nails. Emerson has what I call "double nails" on two of his fingers. It's like one on top of another, only the top one is really thin. Lena's bow outward like little bowls. Both of their toe nails are just&nbsp;bazaar. They are hard enough to trim if she did lay still, but now that she's fighting me it's even harder. Eh well, atleast they grow slowly.Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-75725933283025064722012-01-04T18:58:00.000-08:002012-01-04T18:58:50.687-08:00Mundane Crabby MamaI've been in a real bad mood lately when it comes to braces. Putting them on and taking them off multiple times a day to keep with our "nap and night time" wearing schedule is doing a number on me. It's been almost three and a half years of doing this between the two kids. I know some folks have to do it that long just with one kid, and I'm certainly grateful I don't have TWO kids in braces... but man... isn't she done yet? I know, I'm a whiner. Schedule wise I'm the only parent around during nap times (except for the weekend), but at night we've been trying to re-arrange things so my husband is doing the braces to give me a little mental break from it all.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nLL-EqCrvVs/TwUQyX_AzgI/AAAAAAAAAbk/PImHIbae-rg/s1600/100_7862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nLL-EqCrvVs/TwUQyX_AzgI/AAAAAAAAAbk/PImHIbae-rg/s320/100_7862.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture for no reason other than they are cute</td></tr></tbody></table>Developmental wise she is a crawling machine and will pull to a stand while holding on to furniture. She hasn't shown much interest in letting go to stand solo or walk, and I'm starting to wonder if she will take a little longer to walk than her big brother did (17 months 3 weeks.) Why walk when crawling is so much fun, right? Plus her feet are way smaller than big brothers were and we wonder if they would even be big enough to really support her weight for walking. Doesn't really matter either way, we know she'll walk when she's ready.<br /><br />Random side note, one of the straps on her sandal is starting to break tonight so we will have to make an unscheduled stop at Gillette. Her next appointment with the doctor isn't until April and there is no way that strap is even going to make it through the next week. It's the most important middle strap too.... I hope they can get us in soon!Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-72026403882275378402011-11-01T19:51:00.000-07:002011-11-01T19:51:40.682-07:00One Year Follow Up AppointmentOur son has been brace free for a little over a year! Today was his first official annual check up, although with attending baby sisters appointments he's had his legs peaked at a number of times in the last year. Dr. England observed big brother walking and the flexibility of his feet. Things are looking great! We'll continue with annual appointments from here on out, but he noted that generally if there is going to be an issue it would have reared its ugly head by now. Whew!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WiOMziS9fPY/TrCu4JpwhNI/AAAAAAAAAW4/CL_09IJqG-A/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WiOMziS9fPY/TrCu4JpwhNI/AAAAAAAAAW4/CL_09IJqG-A/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Sister has her appointment in December, but since she was with Dr. England took a peak at her progress. I mentioned my concerns about how flexible her hips are... this girl is out of control! He noted a "click" at about 45-60 degrees and suggested we get an x-ray done just to make sure her socket is perfect. We had time today, so we got it done right away. She's looking great! Kind of a fun little Halloween souvenir too. Having clubbed feet and being a girl just makes her predisposed to being extra flexible I guess. Olympics here we come!<br /><br />Since baby girl was seen today now we don't have another appointment for six months! We're in the slow and steady part of recovery. The longer she wears the braces the better off she'll be. She doesn't seem to mind them at all, so it'll probably be another year of part-time wearing just like big brother.<br /><br />Developmentally she pulls to a stand on furniture, crawls (and speed crawls too - when she's doing something naughty), and will occasionally hold on with only one hand.Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-79472116560266043222011-09-22T14:06:00.000-07:002011-09-22T14:06:20.531-07:00Late Update...<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gyas7Nr_xMg/Tnuc4IemmNI/AAAAAAAAAWM/YWWSbp0luNI/s1600/100_6968.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Gyas7Nr_xMg/Tnuc4IemmNI/AAAAAAAAAWM/YWWSbp0luNI/s320/100_6968.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Sorry I'm a slacker... she had her 9 month follow up appointment at Gillette back in July and there wasn't much to report. She's doing good! We got some new shoes (size double zero) since her old ones were about three seconds away from busting on the strap. The new ones have a roller on the buckle part... I'm still not "sold" on if that helps or hurts in wearing them. Seems like they are harder to get tight enough and the new straps are already looking worn after only two months of use. Hmmm.... :-/</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lena has been a crawling pro since mid-to-end of July. She mostly did an army crawl while holding her hands together... it was kind of ridiculously cute. Only recently she has moved up on all fours and has gotten quite fast.</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TsI2hWXwqlA/TnufOXi_ZdI/AAAAAAAAAWY/DorWgY39xJk/s1600/100_7183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TsI2hWXwqlA/TnufOXi_ZdI/AAAAAAAAAWY/DorWgY39xJk/s320/100_7183.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-TsI2hWXwqlA/TnufOXi_ZdI/AAAAAAAAAWY/DorWgY39xJk/s1600/100_7183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">She has been pulling to a stand for about a month. She hasn't done any cruising on furniture. Mostly just standing there and getting stuck in one spot. Big brother pulled to a stand at 12 months old and was cruising by 13, so if she's following in his footsteps it won't be long before she starts jetting around the furniture. If I had to put money on it... I'd say walking by 17 months... but I know earlier or later still puts her in a normal range. She really enjoys crawling so I think she might lack some motivation to try anything else for a long time.&nbsp;</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sRiGZDJo5os/TnuesXjv0FI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/_l6vdNte1aA/s1600/100_7369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sRiGZDJo5os/TnuesXjv0FI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/_l6vdNte1aA/s320/100_7369.JPG" width="240" /></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">She VERY flexible and has her legs out to the side in a near split I'd say 90% of the time. Guess that is just how she is comfortable! She is hilariously impossible to get into any kind of exersaucer or jumper because of how wide she leaves her legs. Good thing she's barely ever in one!&nbsp;</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've had some mild concerns about her joints in her arms and legs popping when doing diaper changes or clothing changes when I pull on her limbs. I've had friends who have had children dislocate their limbs doing the simplest of tasks, and I don't remember this popping happening with Emerson, so I'm a little paranoid that she is more loose than normal. Guess I'd better learn some skills incase she ends up popping out of socket! Owie!</span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3jx-ZuAycxI/Tnue_5CQUYI/AAAAAAAAAWU/lJ-oVw9KA14/s1600/100_7456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3jx-ZuAycxI/Tnue_5CQUYI/AAAAAAAAAWU/lJ-oVw9KA14/s320/100_7456.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Big brother Emerson turned 3 years old at the beginning of September and has been brace free for one year now! We have a follow up appointment for him end-October and then a 6-month follow up for Lena in December. We're in the "slow and steady" recovery part with her, which is good... but also frustrating because so many people forget that we even have this part of our daily lives. Braces are on during nap time and overnight for Lena until around 2-4 years old. It's a long haul!&nbsp;</span>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-32471715675799281312011-07-03T16:54:00.000-07:002011-07-03T17:34:43.709-07:00We Have Lift Off!Well, baby girl has found ways to be even more mobile as of late. She can get up on one knee and launch herself forward in a crawling motion. She's very sneaky about it (just like with rolling) and I have yet to get it on video to show off. She's been doing it for almost a week now. She is very frustrated about not being able to go forward fast, but the anger is motivating her to get better. :) Right?? <div><br /></div><div>We have our followup appointment in two weeks. Her toes have been hanging over the ends of the shoes for about a month, so we are anxious to upgrade out of her size triple zero. They've had a loooong run. About 6 months with each kid. The strap nearly broke through a month ago and has just been hanging on by a thread. </div><div><br /></div><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyhtfeSm3XNcz7uP1fKTb989b4DOLPbIoOhpg6zUrDucNc_4bjBpjo-iFNG9fnqvy8OqpPB8RPXpuO48Sa6' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /><div><br /></div><div>This video is from her first night of crawling. Just shows her getting up on her knees and being crabby... but you get the point. :) Her brother used to do milestones on the number of his birth... so I bet she'll do something amazing on the 12th. Fingers crossed! </div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-4157573130372945922011-05-21T00:56:00.000-07:002011-05-22T10:06:15.471-07:00She's Got It... Yeah Baby She's Got It...With or without braces on... she's unstoppable! <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzL_5iluz6b9yU3v0htGrsoRNTybuQCZgAVeh5BErDJ_sv09q-R5Gj0JUGkqDzQG49GkeAYTUs0txuknVHUbg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' />Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-55693457247533568442011-05-15T07:46:00.001-07:002011-05-15T08:02:32.271-07:007 Months Old<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KJ2_J0q3ZEw/Tc_oPLrABhI/AAAAAAAAATE/Zen_2Oo3z_k/s1600/100_6371.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KJ2_J0q3ZEw/Tc_oPLrABhI/AAAAAAAAATE/Zen_2Oo3z_k/s400/100_6371.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606955408628385298" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Baby girl is 7 months old now and can sit independently, and as of two days ago can log roll across the floor! Surprised me! I was uploading some photos onto my computer and every time I glanced over at her she was another roll closer to the couch. She made it about 8 feet (about 4 rolls - 2 back to front and 2 front to back). Yikes! She's going at a turtles pace... but still making progress on traveling. I, of course, have yet to get this on film because she is camera shy. HOW do they find the camera even when you have it hidden?? Naughty children!</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Sitting independently took her about two weeks to perfect. She started off being able to do it on the bed, something about the squish made her more confident. When I realized how well she was holding herself up I started to get brave about letting her do it on the carpet. She is a little slouchy with it, but I suppose with more strength she will get better at that. She cannot get to a sitting position without help - but if you put her that way she can hold it for a very long time. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HjyNnkhhWzA/Tc_qHn9MVuI/AAAAAAAAATM/W4fDU5aqdD0/s400/100_6344.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606957477805184738" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">She is brace free for about 5-6 hours a day and we are really enjoying it! I am finally able to enjoy some real baby wearing! I think by the time my son was brace free during the day he was a little too old to get used to the idea, and perhaps the Baby K'Tan wasn't comfortable for him. I was able to get an Ergo on </span></span><a href="http://www.babysteals.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">babysteals.com</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"> a few weeks ago and baby girl seems to love it! </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">On a side note, from 4 to 6.5 months baby girl only gained 2 oz. This has been a little red flag on my mind. We go back in the middle of June for a 6 week follow up. I'm not sure if anything is wrong with her, if something was wrong with their scale (she was 2 pounds heavier on my home scale after about 3 weeks), or if nothing is wrong at all and she is just going to be a small baby. She was 13 pounds 3 oz and 24.5 inches long. She looks and acts completely healthy, so its hard to imagine anything is wrong. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Matching brother/sister outfits purchased from </span></span><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBellarinaBoutique?&amp;utm_source=Facebook&amp;utm_medium=App_Seller&amp;utm_content=shops&amp;utm_campaign=fb_seller_shop"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Bellarina Boutique</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">. </span></span></div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-52010781510277305172011-04-04T14:29:00.000-07:002011-04-04T14:45:07.320-07:00Same stinky shoes, new angle<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R81aDleB-sM/TZo5jvVTiiI/AAAAAAAAARk/UbSiSP44MiI/s1600/100_6050.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R81aDleB-sM/TZo5jvVTiiI/AAAAAAAAARk/UbSiSP44MiI/s400/100_6050.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5591845173497924130" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">She loves grabbing her shoes!! Getting close to smacking herself in the face.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>Had our checkup today! Dr. England says she is looking great and he put in an order to change her Ponseti brace angle from 70 degrees (which is almost straight outward) to 50 degrees. She has become so flexible that he was worried about too much of an over correction. Clubbed feet is corrected through over correction - but there is such a thing as too much. 50 degrees is still out pretty far (in fact our son had one foot at 70 and the other at 50 the whole time). So, this should be just fine. <div><br /></div><div>And... drum roll please.... we have graduated to only wearing the braces during naps and overnight! She is three months ahead of our son on that note. Waaaahoooooo!!! Right now her nap schedule is two 45 minute naps in the morning and a long 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon, followed by a tiny nap in the evening sometimes, and then sleeping solid from 8:30pm-7am. We're thinking the two morning naps would be a bit much for on/off on/off, so our routine is going to consist of keeping the braces on until after her first nap. Then the braces will be off during that waking period plus the second morning nap and the waking period after the second nap. Then the shoes will be on during her long afternoon nap. She might get a short shoe break in the evening, just depends on what we have going on. So, really she's just gained probably 3 hour break from the shoes instead of a 30 minute one. I am super glad to have a squishy baby for any amount of time! :) </div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-7451161808813922052011-03-30T12:38:00.000-07:002011-03-30T12:55:58.819-07:00Wishful Thinking?<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1LiHtBbvKRw/TZOI4UiUF1I/AAAAAAAAARU/ZNkLwZp3LHM/s1600/100_5980.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1LiHtBbvKRw/TZOI4UiUF1I/AAAAAAAAARU/ZNkLwZp3LHM/s320/100_5980.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589962063663601490" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Standing on her tiny toothpick legs. Body of a 5.5 month old, calves/feet of a newborn!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span>We have our first follow up appointment since January next week. She has been in braces 23.5 hours a day for about four months. With spring/summer coming up I keep having wishful thinking thoughts that next week they will tell us she can graduate to naps/overnights only with the braces. But I'm not holding my breath. It would be really nice to have her be brace free during the day, or even just for two hours for pool parties. My son had his braces on 23.5 hours a day until 9 months old, so since baby sister seems to be a clone of her brother I anticipate we will be wearing braces for another three months. Sigh.<div><br /></div><div>Her 3-5 toes are still curling under, in fact pinky#5 is almost gone!<br /><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AhpW3bgoEcg/TZOI4vJxrYI/AAAAAAAAARc/0LrdEyfD75o/s320/100_5987.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589962070808440194" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 228px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Check out those chubby ankles! LOL! Roll Roll Roll!</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "></span>New Milestone Report: Only thing I can think of is that she is getting very good and grabbing things and bringing them to her mouth. She will also reach up and hold onto things hanging on her play gym or on the carseat. Must be working on upper body this week! :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Elimination Communication<div>We've been a little lazy the past 6 weeks because I had a knee surgery wasn't comfortable sitting/squatting to help her sit on the toilet. We still do it about once a day, but not nearly as diligent as we were in January. She also hasn't been waking up with dry diapers anymore, so I'm not sure what that is all about. We'll continue at our lazy pace because if anything it is keeping her familiar with the purpose of a toilet. </div></div></div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-39411285664686762162011-03-23T13:12:00.000-07:002011-03-23T14:08:37.440-07:00Roller Girl<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FVKgqo4qI08/TYpbuZua11I/AAAAAAAAAQs/0sg0BiFHaMM/s1600/100_5871.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FVKgqo4qI08/TYpbuZua11I/AAAAAAAAAQs/0sg0BiFHaMM/s320/100_5871.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5587379140444215122" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Well, baby girl has done it! Rolling over at 5 months old. She has done it a handful of times, and I have yet to get a good one on tape. So... I cheated a little bit and put her on slippery material so it would be easier for her. But I promise she has done it on the carpet before. I just never have the camera ready when she does. D'oh!</div><div><div><br /></div><div>Braces won't slow this baby down! :)</div><div><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyLVAbX0qlNwDMucYjcvepjQSPhqANscTp3w-rVRpaSF4Ru0sScIdMLp4PLrQfkFg3SVaIQBQNoHCpN4C0rEw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-49898873991864714622011-03-20T02:48:00.000-07:002011-03-20T02:48:00.223-07:00Dobbs Dynamic BarIn more recent years there have been some advancements from the typical Mitchell Sandal and Ponseti bar that my children have both worn. Dr. Dobbs invented the <a href="http://www.dobbsbrace.com/">Dobbs Dynamic bar</a> that allows for more movement by having the shoes be on a hinged bar instead of a stationary one. Many parents swear by them and say they are a great benefit to have for allowing the baby to become mobile easier. There is a great video on their website to show the same child crawling with the Ponseti bar VS Dobbs bar. <div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); line-height: 18px; "><img src="http://www.dobbsbrace.com/images/dobbs.jpg" alt="Dr. Dobbs" width="225" height="204" style="display: block; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:180%;color:#FF0000;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 18px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span><div>I didn't even know they existed until a few months ago, and the option of having one was never given to us with our son. For that matter it has never been offered to us with our daughter either, I only found out about it online through support groups. I am on the fence about obtaining one for our daughter since they are not covered by our insurance and really the straight bar didn't hold my son back too much. He was crawling at 11 months and walking by 18 months. There is no guarantee he would have done this any earlier by having the mobility of the Dobbs bar. </div><div><br /></div><div>I've heard out of pocket that the bar runs around $150, and that there is also an adapter you need to get if you are going to use the Mitchell Sandals. For now my daughter seems perfectly happy in the standard bar and shoes. She has no blisters, no trouble sleeping, and does not seem frustrated. We also have no trouble with compliance because we are very strict with ourselves and avoid the extended shoe break pity parties that I think many parents fall into by feeling sorry for their children and leaving the braces off for longer periods of time then they are supposed to do. You know who you are... </div><div><br /></div><div>I'll keep the idea in my back pocket, but for now we are going to stick with the standard. Worked well for our son.... why mess with a good thing, right? :)</div></div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-20224739228814400812011-03-10T13:27:00.000-08:002011-03-10T13:48:15.285-08:00Five Month Update<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9AM5iCGForI/TXlD4eMdQlI/AAAAAAAAAQc/d2y-igeq__0/s1600/100_5535.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9AM5iCGForI/TXlD4eMdQlI/AAAAAAAAAQc/d2y-igeq__0/s320/100_5535.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582567850559488594" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-small;">Jokingly having her sit independently. Her tripod legs are useful in this ruse.</span> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We're still plugging away at around 15 weeks in braces and haven't had any appointments since early January. We go in next at the beginning of April and I anticipate we'll get a "doing good" pat on the back from our doctor and then have another appointment three more months down the road. Our son wore his braces 23.5 hours a day until he was 9 months old, so I anticipate that our daughter will graduate along that same timeline. I guess you could say we're about halfway through the "braces all the time" phase. Time is just flying (eye roll and sarcasm). I still look at her sometimes and can't believe we are doing this all over again. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Milestones are still in the future. She gets close to being able to roll from back onto tummy, but just can't quite get enough momentum going to breech all the way over. She does do better practicing this with the bar and shoes on as she is just more comfortable that way. When the bar is off she just is not used to having her legs be two separate entities. She has started to be able to rotate around in bed and often ends up in a different direction than the one I laid her down on. Going to have to start thinking about how to contain her on the bed so she doesn't go over! We co-sleep and she is just on the mattress which is low to the ground. Not that falling from any height is good, but atleast we aren't talking about a 3-4 foot drop here. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We've started letting her have some time in the bouncy saucer exerciser. Without shoes on it does some good stretching just like the physical therapy we do with her doing her daily shoe break. We limit her to 10 minute segments twice a day (once without the shoes and once with) as those exercisers are hard on hips, and we were warned to be extra careful.<br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BTuIeifFfio/TXlD481t4FI/AAAAAAAAAQk/Waf9IijaGm0/s320/100_5529.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5582567858785607762" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Here's a fun photo taken with baby's all born about the same time. Ella in purple is the oldest (born prematurely at 29 weeks), then 10 days later my baby girl was born, and then our man Chase was 3 weeks after that. Pretty so we won't be able to set the baby's like this as Lena just might get her whale tail brace going and crack her friends over the head. Look out folks! </span></span></div></div></div></div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-40049272915248603802011-02-01T05:37:00.000-08:002011-02-02T11:21:03.960-08:00Blog of Other Blogs<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">Yep - just a blog to tell you where you can find other blogs of parents with clubbed feet:</span></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.clubfootbaby.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">www.clubfootbaby.com</span></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://wherewillthislittlefoottakehim.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">http://wherewillthislittlefoottakehim.blogspot.com/</span></a></span></span></span></div><div><a href="http://www.kendall-itsmillertime.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">http://www.kendall-itsmillertime.blogspot.com/</span></span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://talipestogether.com/profiles/blog/list"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">http://talipestogether.com/profiles/blog/list</span></span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://blog.paulpounder.com/?p=172"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">http://blog.paulpounder.com/?p=172</span></span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://parentingisntforpansies.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">http://parentingisntforpansies.blogspot.com/</span></span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://clubfootmalaysia.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">http://clubfootmalaysia.blogspot.com/</span></span></span></a></div><div><a href="http://lisasmithblog.typepad.com/cadens_club_foot_blog"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">http://lisasmithblog.typepad.com/cadens_club_foot_blog/</span></span></span></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://www.hannon3.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">http://www.hannon3.blogspot.com/</span></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><a href="hannahammonds.blogspot.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">hannahammonds.blogspot.com</span></a></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC33;">If you have a blog please post it below and I will add it to the list. :) Thanks for sharing your stories! </span></span></span></div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-90007649277722597642011-01-22T16:17:00.000-08:002011-01-22T17:04:07.227-08:00End of January Update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZeCZzH6P3lY/TTt37uXTqGI/AAAAAAAAAP4/yQf3UixZwyw/s1600/100_5336.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ZeCZzH6P3lY/TTt37uXTqGI/AAAAAAAAAP4/yQf3UixZwyw/s320/100_5336.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565173632488155234" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Baby girl is doing fantastic in her recovery and is getting dangerously close to rolling over onto her side. She gets 30 minutes a day to practice without the brace, but she is even getting close to doing it with the brace on. Big brother is also getting dangerously close to being kicked in the face when playing too close to her... this is going to be an interesting year for injuries...</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Off topic - she has started to do something amazing... she's going pee on the potty! I have heard of Elimination Communication (EC) before, but never pictured myself doing it. For about a month she's been waking up from 2-3 hour naps with a dry diaper. I often joked with my husband that she was going to be potty trained before our 2 1/2 year old son (who soaks a size 5 overnight diaper just during his nap time - yeah... not even sorta ready). </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Yesterday I decided to experiment by sitting her on the potty. She smiled and laughed as I made a hissing noise at her... and moments later I heard a little trickle. Could NOT even believe it. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ZeCZzH6P3lY/TTt37T2D85I/AAAAAAAAAPw/Db2GCTsVsMo/s320/100_5366.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565173625369392018" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I met a woman about a year ago who was doing EC and it seemed like it would be a lot of work. But now after doing it for two days I've decided it is waaaay easy and worth trying! This woman taught me about the hissing noise and explained it was a trigger to let the baby know that it was "okay" to go pee. It's a bit like running water and how it helps even an adult to go potty. After nap time I set my daughter on the potty and just a few seconds in she is peeing away. It's worked 5/7 times we've tried it. Pretty good odds if you ask me. We're still waiting for the all mighty #2... but I feel like it's not far off! </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Online I was connected up with </span></span><a href="https://docs.google.com/View?id=dhcwj3xv_46g768cgcs"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Emma Kwasnica</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> who I was told is a EC guru. Her 15 month old daughter has been diaper free since BIRTH. She recommended I obtain a copy of </span></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Diaper-Free-Natural-Hygiene-ebook/dp/B001R6OTCQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1295742484&amp;sr=8-3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ingrid Bauer's Diaper Free</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> book at the library and visit </span></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.diaperfreebaby.org"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">www.diaperfreebaby.org </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">. I've requested a copy of the book from our library and will hopefully get to read it next week. I am tempted to learn how to make my own baby panties... because they are darn cute.. and there is no way I'm spending $8/pair. I'm talented enough to make some. :)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&amp;p=78" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-decoration: underline; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><img src="http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/shop/images/products/detail_78_safari.jpeg" name="detail_image" border="0" alt="babyMISHA infant underwear - prints " width="250" height="200" class="img_style" style="padding-top: 7px; padding-right: 7px; padding-bottom: 7px; padding-left: 7px; " /></span></span></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-25623695185136519122011-01-15T12:44:00.000-08:002011-01-15T12:44:00.486-08:00Want to do a guest post?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Now that we've gotten into the "slow and steady" part of recovery I'm going to have less and less to blog about I'm sure. If anyone wants to do a guest blog just let me know! I'd love to share your story and any photos. If you have any ideas for blogs you could help me out by letting me know them too. </span>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-36597498283915515432011-01-10T09:33:00.001-08:002011-01-10T09:58:16.807-08:00Developmental Delays<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZeCZzH6P3lY/TStHHT-61BI/AAAAAAAAAMo/ZMYdvG3k-JY/s1600/100_4141.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 251px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZeCZzH6P3lY/TStHHT-61BI/AAAAAAAAAMo/ZMYdvG3k-JY/s320/100_4141.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560616355867841554" /></a><br />Let me just preface this by saying I am NOT saying that people with clubbed feet are mentally handicap. I've been in "trouble" before on this topic when people take it the wrong way. It is just that children of any physical handicap sometimes fall behind in other areas because their bodies and brains are working so hard in one area.<div><br /></div><div>The first year of his life we had about 4-5 friends with boys all born around the same time. By everyone's first birthdays my son was just learning to crawl when everyone else's children were running. It was at that point that we started hanging around children 4-6 months younger than him, but he seemed to identify with them more. It wasn't a conscious move on my part to have him hang around younger kids, it just kinda happened. </div><div><br /></div><div>Around 15 months our pediatrician became concerned that our son wasn't talking. At first I was reluctant, thinking that our pediatrician was being a little overly concerned as I didn't think 15 months was really an age to be concerned about lack of talking - especially for a boy. But then he explained how our son might really need an extra push in the verbal area since his body was working so hard just on crawling and walking. We figured it couldn't hurt, so we set up an appointment with a program in our area called Early Childhood Intervention. </div><div><br /></div><div>Teachers came to our home and used the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayley_Scales_of_Infant_Development">Bayley's Scales of Infant Development</a> to determine if he qualified for help. He scored a 76 out of 80... just barely "failing" the test, which then qualified us for the program. It is an in home program, so a teacher comes to our house once a week for an hour until he turns 3 years old. At that point he can be re-evaluated and possibly qualify for continued assistance, though it would no longer be in home.</div><div><br /></div><div>We are currently almost a year into having assistance and our son has BOOMED from barely babbling to having complete 3-4 word sentences. Super pleased with his progress and it is fantastic to be able to have verbal communication with him! </div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-28007241005168982612011-01-04T12:52:00.000-08:002011-01-04T13:12:22.172-08:00Follow up - 5 weeks in braces<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZeCZzH6P3lY/TSOMhzm860I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/zek83be6e6A/s1600/100_5177.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 302px; height: 400px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZeCZzH6P3lY/TSOMhzm860I/AAAAAAAAAMQ/zek83be6e6A/s400/100_5177.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5558440877522479938" /></a><br />Baby girl had her follow up appointment after just over a month in braces. Things are looking fantastic and we do not have another appointment until April (3 months out). We can go in sooner if something looks wrong, but for now it's the long haul of correction. <div><br /></div><div>I had a nice chat with our doctor about my concerns about how far off the typical Ponseti correction timeline both of my children are following based on his recommendations, and my mind is at ease. Typical Ponseti timeline is casting, tenotomy surgery, 2-3 months in braces 24 hours a day, and then overnights until the child is 2-4 years old. 80% of clubbed feet cases fit that timeline, but my children are both falling into that gray 20% area where no tenotomy is necessary and they are so flexible that the braces are done with on the 2 year end rather than the far 4 year end. </div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe I've watched too much LOST lately, but my brain is thinking "whatever happened happened" and "whatever will be will be". I'm going to relax and enjoy my children and not worry about relapses. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another thing that put my mind at ease is we spoke about my son's foot rolling inward as I previously blogged about and our doctor pointed out that a relapse would actually be rolling the other direction. Duh us! Clubbed feet curls inward so the children would be walking on the outside area of the foot. Our sons foot are rolling just as they are supposed to towards the inside and will slowly get more neutral over the next few years as his tendons tighten without wearing any braces. Let's just hope they stop at neutral. :) </div><div><br /></div><div>And baby girls toes 3,4&amp;5 happen to all run in the same "tube" where the achilles tendon is running through so as the 70 degree angle of her feet are stretching the achilles they are also stretching her toes. So, the under toe curling might be correcting itself at the same time. How about that. </div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4550189913226286372.post-57301568174135520622011-01-01T12:36:00.001-08:002011-01-01T12:50:21.977-08:00Physical Therapy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZeCZzH6P3lY/TR-SRoHB-iI/AAAAAAAAAMI/CwshfSb8oP0/s1600/100_4917.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_ZeCZzH6P3lY/TR-SRoHB-iI/AAAAAAAAAMI/CwshfSb8oP0/s320/100_4917.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5557321296720820770" /></a><br />So since doctor has not recommended a tenotomy we've been doing physical therapy of stretching her a few times a day. In the last two weeks her ankles have turned quite a bit more, and even in the last week we could suddenly get the middle buckle one hole tighter, which really pushed her foot down nicely! We are pleased! <div><br /></div><div>We have a follow up appointment on January 3rd, and we will be discussing the skipping of the tenotomy again, relapse chances, and all kinds of good stuff. </div><div><br /></div><div>I was not aware that there is a standard Ponseti recovery timeline and our doctor does not appear to be following it. According to the <a href="http://www.ponseti.info/v1/index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=14&amp;Itemid=28">Ponseti International</a> website there should be a tenotomy, wearing of the braces for 2-3 months all the time, and then overnights until the child is 3-4 years old. My son did not have a tenotomy, wore the braces all the time for 8 months, and then overnights until he was just shy of 25 months old. Very different than the standard schedule. I am normally one to just trust what the doctor says is best - after all... they are the experts. But I also know that they are human and therefore flawed. I'm torn a little on what to do for my daughter. I don't want to insist on a tenotomy for her if indeed it isn't necessary. But the only thing I can think of that is worse** than going through clubbed foot recovery twice is also going through two relapse cases. Oy!!!</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">**of any deformity I would take a child with clubbed feet - for us it has not been that bad - I'm being melodramatic. </span></div>Mother Hennoreply@blogger.com0